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Renowned Rock-Fusion Trio the Aristocrats Set for Australian Tour: “Duck” Tour Takes Flight February/March 2025

Tour, news, articleDitch This Magazinefestival
Renowned Rock-Fusion Trio the Aristocrats Set for Australian Tour: “Duck” Tour Takes Flight February/March 2025
 

What happens after the world’s most raucous rock/fusion instrumental power trio releases a concept album about an Antarctic duck fleeing a penguin policeman all the way to New York City, where further misadventures and danger await? They launch the DUCK World Tour, of course. 

The Aristocrats - Guthrie Govan (guitar), Bryan Beller (bass), Marco Minnemann (drums) - bring their trademark musical virtuosity and inherent absurdity to stages across AUSTRALIA, where they’ll be playing (and perhaps even explaining) a sizable chunk of their new album DUCK as well as classic cuts from their five-album catalogue.  Coming off a wildly successful 9-week North American run, the DUCK Australian tour kicks off in Perth on Monday February 24 and visits Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne before concluding in Sydney on Sunday 2 March. 

Over the past 12 years, The Aristocrats – guitarist Guthrie Govan (Steven Wilson, Hans Zimmer, Asia/GPS), bassist Bryan Beller (Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Dethklok), and drummer Marco Minnemann (Steven Wilson, Joe Satriani, Steve Hackett) – have established themselves as one of the most musically original, refreshingly irreverent, and astoundingly entertaining instrumental rock-fusion acts on the planet.  Global media have gushed with the UK’s Rhythm Magazine declaring them “More fun than fusion has a right to be…” and The San Diego Union Tribune avowing, “If there is a more accomplished, empathetic and versatile all-instrumental trio in rock than The Aristocrats, I’ve yet to hear them…”

The buzz from their supposedly one-off debut gig at the Anaheim NAMM show in 2011 led to The Aristocrats self-titled debut album. Tracked in just eight days, THE ARISTOCRATS (2011) was hailed as an instant classic in leading music publications worldwide, appearing on many of that year’s top ten lists. The Aristocrats then proceeded to make three more critically acclaimed studio albums over the next decade, two of which landed in the Billboard Top 10 Jazz Chart. (Jazz? Ok, sure.) Four world tours and three live albums later, the band is known on five continents as a must-see whirlwind musical experience. 

Joining The Aristocrats on all shows as opening support will be Toehider performing in solo mode. Toehider is a collaboration between multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Mike Mills and illustrator Andrew Saltmarsh. Beginning in 2008, the project has become Australia’s most prolific progressive rock act, with over 30 releases spanning prog, metal, folk, pop, rock, funk, spoken word and more. Singer Mike Mills has also featured significantly in the Ayreon universe both in studio and on stage. Following a successful world tour in support of latest record ‘I Have Little To No Memory, Of These Memories’, Mills will perform solo sets on tour with The Aristocrats in February.